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Three years ago, Surrey’s chief executive Richard Gould was pondering how to deal with beer snakes - the stacking of empty pint cups which had become ubiquitous during Twenty20 matches. Gould asked how many disposable cups The Oval got through a season.

The answer was 1.3 million. “That was a really scary thought,” Gould recalls. “You multiply that against all the other sporting venues and it would be in the hundreds of millions. That was my lightbulb moment.”

Gould admits that he had never even considered the topic before. “Normally in management you deal in pounds and pence and people. Until that point you don't quantify it, you just see a load of cups arriving and then a load of rubbish leaving.”

In 2015, Surrey abolished disposable pint glasses in the public bars at The Oval. It was the start of the club’s journey into being England’s most environmentally-conscious cricket team.

Between celebrating the new signings of South African Test players Dean Elgar and Morne Morkel, Surrey have spent recent months making a series of environmental announcements, culminating in the news that the club are committed to scrapping the use all disposable plastic by 2020.

Aussie fans build a bear snake at Trent BridgeCredit:
GETTY IMAGES

Surrey had already announced that, this summer, they are banning all plastic drinking straws, introducing fully-compostable coffee cups, ending the use of plastic bags in the club shop and recycling their used coffee grounds. For the first time, all beer in the members and hospitality areas will be served from reusable and recyclable cups.

Last year, Sky’s Ocean Rescue Campaign partnered with Surrey during the Test against South Africa, and handed out 20,000 reusable water bottles to spectators. The club funded 20 new permanent water fountains to support the initiative.

“We got such a positive response from sponsors and supporters,” Gould reflects. “As you scratch beneath the surface you find out how much you use.” Kia, one of Surrey’s sponsors, have since installed an electric car charging point by the ground. The players themselves now use recyclable cartons of water, rather than bottled water.

Surrey’s embrace of sustainability has also put them in touch with a former player. James Benning thumped 152 when Surrey made the world record one-day score of 496-4 11 years ago. He now works for Fidelity Energy, who Surrey contract to provide all electricity from renewable sources; last year, the deal saved 220 tons of carbon.

The club's financial power makes it easier for them to invest in being eco-friendly, including funding the estimated £300,000 of installing 250 bar taps for soft drinks around the ground as soft drinks in plastic bottles are phased out. Disposable plastic is so ubiquitous that they expect to encounter new costs they haven’t yet considered to meet their pledge.

“It's easier for us because we've got the resource and scale to be able to act quickly,” Gould accepts. Yet ultimately, Surrey view going green as an investment, which will save the club money. “It will cost money in the short-term but in the long-term there will be savings. How long does it take to pick up 1.3 million cups over a year? How much does it cost?”

For all the sense that this represents something radical, Gould - who served in the 1st Royal Tank Regiment before becoming a sports administrator - also looks to the past for inspiration. “It's almost going back to the '70s. What did we all do before Evian? In the army you'd always travel with your own bowl, spoon and reusable mug. We managed it then - why can't we now?”

Sky's Ocean Rescue Campaign partnered with SurreyCredit:
GETTY IMAGES

There is a sense that cricket is becoming newly aware of its environmental impact. The ECB spent £2.6 million in emergency grants in 2016 and 2017 to help clubs affected by flooding and unseasonal weather; in February, the Climate Coalition found that cricket will be the “hardest hit” sport in the UK by climate change.

Since last year’s Test, Gould has had conversations with other counterparts about how to reduce their number of stacked cups. “If you want to make a big hit early that's the one to tackle first.”

Surrey’s ambition is not merely to reduce their own environmental impact. It is to encourage others to do the same and, at a time when the global reputation of sport has never been so tainted, do a little to reaffirm that sport can be a vehicle for positive change.

“Sport does have a leadership position,” Gould says. “If we can find ways of delivering with less waste and plastic then others will follow.”